Meet Western's newest inductees into its athletics Hall of Fame
Five former student-athletes, all of whom helped their respective sports to national tournament success, make up the Class of 2018 inductees into the Western Washington University Athletics Hall of Fame.
The fivesome brings the hall’s membership to 145 over the 116-year history of athletics at Western. [complete list].
- Anne Cooper (Women’s Basketball) – Dominating center for WWU holding school record with 322 blocked shots.
- Alison Haukaas (Softball) – Led Vikings to 1998 NAIA national championship and set 16 records during her career.
- Joni Slagle (Women’s Basketball) – Averaged 20.1 points per game in 1976-77 leading Vikings to national tournament.
- Jason Stiles (Football) – WWU All-Century Team quarterback who set program record with 67 touchdown passes.
- Katja Trygg (Women’s Golf) – Two-time First Team All-American and WWU career scoring leader.
The induction ceremony, which is part of the WWU Alumni Association’s Back to Bellingham weekend, takes place on Saturday, May 19 (1 p.m.), on WECU Court at Carver Gym.
It is the first time since the inaugural hall of fame induction at halftime of a men’s basketball game in 1968 that the ceremony will be held in the Carver facility, which re-opened last fall following a two-year $81.5 million renovation.
On Friday, May 18 (5:30 p.m.), the inductees will be honored at a luncheon and introduced that evening at the WWU Alumni Association Awards Celebration.
The induction ceremony is the 43rd for WWU, which has the second oldest hall of fame among Pacific Northwest colleges and universities. There is no admission charge and parking is free for that event.
ANNE COOPER Women’s Basketball (Center)
Anne Cooper was a dominant defensive presence for the Vikings from 1982 to 1986, setting school records for blocked shots in a game (9, twice), season (114, 4.1 avg.) and career (322, 2.8). She was a team co-captain as a junior and senior and her four-year career won-lost record at WWU was 94-27 (77.7 percent).
Besides being the school’s all-time blocks leader, Cooper finished her career ranked among the school’s top 10 in three other categories, being sixth in points (965) and rebounds (795) and 10th in assists (223).
“Anne had long arms and great timing,” said her coach Lynda Goodrich. “To be a good shot blocker, you have to have that.”
“But what amazed me was the number of assists Anne had per game. She could score inside, but she also was a very good passer. A lot of times with a center, the ball goes in but it doesn’t come back out. But when the defense collapsed on Anne, she found the open player.”
As a junior in 1984-85, the 6-foot-2 Cooper earned NAIA District 1 and Kodak All-District honors, averaging a team-leading 9.3 rebounds (259) on a 23-5 team.
As a senior, she was again a district all-star on a 25-8 team that won district and Bi-District titles and reached the quarterfinals at the NAIA National Tournament. That season, she averaged 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.
Before starting her final two seasons, Cooper split time at center her first two years, competing on a 21-10 team as a freshman in 1982-83 and on a 25-4 squad as a sophomore in 1983-84.
After earning honorable mention All-America honors in 1981 as a senior at Stadium High School in Tacoma, Cooper chose not to compete her first year at WWU. However, she missed the sport and was with the Vikings the next season, much to the delight of Goodrich.
Cooper is now a senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Sammons Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, where her primary focus is on sustaining a healthy, high-performing culture and a values-based work environment.
Prior to joining Sammons Financial Group in 2013, Cooper served as head of human resources for a division of ING/Voya. During her time at ING, she led HR teams and partnered with global businesses, while living in the United States, the Netherlands and Korea.
Cooper has served on the WWU Foundation Board since 2013 (currently in her second term) and the Board of the Central Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross. She was a commencement speaker at Western’s December 2014 graduation ceremony.
Cooper is a member of American Psychological Association and the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists. She completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at WWU in 1986. She later received her M.S. and Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from Iowa State University.
Married to Richard (Rick) Barkosky, they have a son Ricky, who lives in Germany, and daughter Vera.
ALISON HAUKAAS Softball (Pitcher)
Three years after Alison Haukaas joined the WWU softball team as a walk-on freshman in 1995, she pitched a complete-game victory for the Vikings in the title contest of the NAIA National Tournament. It was the first national championship for any team in school history. Western, which posted a 33-13 record, had received the seventh and final at-large berth in the tourney.
“That was a fairytale, Cinderella year,” said her WWU coach Art Phinney of the 1998 national championship season. “And while it is a team sport, the heart and soul, the first person to play at Western with the mental strength to win a national title was Alison Haukaas.”
As a junior on that squad, Haukaas had a 9-2 record with a 1.39 earned run average. She was a NAIA Pacific Northwest Sectional and Pacific West Athletic Conference all-star as well as being named College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) District VIII All-Academic.
Western’s title, which came in just the sixth year of the program, culminated with a 5-1 win over Simon Fraser. The Vikings had to come from behind in the first four of their five national tourney victories.
Haukaas, a member of WWU’s All-Century Softball Team (1900-99), set 16 school records during her four-year career, finishing with 44 wins and 58 complete games.
As a freshman, Haukaas helped Western to the Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference (PNWAC) regular-season and tournament titles, and second place at the NAIA Pacific Northwest Regional. She was the PNWAC Pitcher of the Year, Pacific Northwest all-Sectional and NAIA National Pitcher of the Week, having a 13-11 record, 1.47 ERA, eight shutouts, two no-hitters and 127 strikeouts in 162-1/3 innings.
Haukaas also was a first-team all-PNWAC and sectional all-star as a sophomore with a 2.56 ERA, and a first-team PacWest Conference all-star and academic all-star as a senior.
A graduate of Washougal (Wash.) High School, Haukaas now lives in Poulsbo where she is in her 16th year as a technical project manager at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center located in Keyport, Wash. She spent most of her first three years at that job in Newport, R.I.
Haukaas received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from WWU in 1999, and a master’s degree in 2001. She obtained a Masters of Science in Systems Engineering degree from the naval post-graduate school in 2005.
Haukaas and husband, Scott Richards, have two children, daughter Hannah and son Zachary.
JONI SLAGLE Women’s Basketball (Forward)
This is the third hall of fame for Joni Slagle, who was earlier named to the Kitsap County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Olympic College Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 5-foot-10 Slagle averaged 20.1 points per game (543) and 11.3 rebounds (306) during the 1976-77 season at Western, both team-best figures, in leading the Vikings to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Tournament. That followed first-place finishes at the Northwest College Women’s Sports Association (NCWSA)-AIAW Region 9 Tournament and the Northern-Southern Area Tournament.
Western met Boise State in the regional final, upsetting the Broncos 76-68 at Boise, Idaho, for its 13th straight win as Slagle had a team-high 20 points. The victory came just six weeks after a 32-point loss, 62-30, to BSU at Carver Gym where the Vikings had been virtually infallible.
Slagle, who earned all-star honors at both the district and regional tourneys, scored 543 points (20.1 avg.) and made 222 field goals that season. Those figures were school records and the scoring average remains among the top three in the illustrious history of the program. She scored 20 or more points 15 times during that campaign, twice having a season and career-high 31, one short of the school record at the time.
"In my opinion she has to be one of the best all-around forwards in the country and is certainly the best I've ever coached," said Lynda Goodrich, who was in her sixth season as head coach at the time.
Slagle, who averaged 17.0 points the previous season for the Vikings, had transferred to Western from Olympic CC.
As a sophomore for the Rangers, she averaged 25 points and 20 rebounds a game. On Jan. 29, 1975, Slagle scored a school-record 47 points in a 78-38 win over Centralia CC.
Slagle averaged 23.0 points as a senior at North Mason High School, where girls athletics didn’t exist until her junior year.
Slagle also competed in volleyball and tennis at Olympic CC, while earning her associate of arts degree in 1975.
Following her playing career at Western, Slagle was a Viking assistant coach for one season while completing her bachelor’s degree in physical education. The Minnesota Fillies of the short-lived Women’s Professional Basketball League (WPBL) had drafted Slagle in 1978, but she passed on that opportunity.
Slagle taught and coached at Blaine High School for one year and spent three years in the Bellingham School District as a K-12 PE specialist.
Slagle then took a job at the Lake Padden Golf Course in Bellingham, completed a PGA course in Florida, and became an assistant pro there.
During that time, she coached girls basketball at Meridian High School and took a one-year leave (1983) to play basketball for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League in Australia.
Slagle also played AAU basketball for top-ranked Bellco Electric out of Seattle for several years, teaming with other top players in the state.
In 1990, Slagle went to work for BP Arco, retired in 2014, and now manages a cargo safety company.
JASON STILES Football (Quarterback)
A four-year starter at quarterback for the Vikings from 1992 to 1995, Jason Stiles was a first-team choice to WWU’s All-Century Football Team (1900-1999). He had a 30-9 record while directing the offense and finished as the school’s career leader in yards passing with 7,854 and touchdown passes with 67.
Stiles’ head coach at Western, Rob Smith, said, “Jason was the consummate team leader, exactly what you look for in your quarterback, as he played the game with both passion and determination, two qualities that have allowed him to achieve great personal success after graduation.”
An honorable mention NAIA All-American as a senior in 1995, Stiles led WWU to its first undefeated regular season since 1938, the school’s first No.1 ranking in the final national poll, first place in the Columbia Football Association-Mount Rainier League (5-0), and the opening round of the NAIA Division II national playoffs, finishing 9-1.
The Vikings broke or tied 43 school records that season, including most wins, and scored 50 points each in three games, tying a school record. WWU ranked fifth nationally in scoring offense (37.0), seventh in passing offense (277.7) and eighth in total offense (453.9).
Stiles, who passed for 2,297 yards and 17 touchdowns, completing 61 percent of his attempts (161-of-264), was a first-team all-CFA pick and NAIA National Player of the Week.
As a freshman in 1992, Stiles helped the Vikings to their first national playoff appearance in program history. That season a Stiles pass that resulted in an incredible catch by wide receiver Chris Moore won national acclaim and was voted ESPN College Play of the Year at the first ESPY Awards show.
Stiles ranked ninth nationally in passing (249.8) as a sophomore. WWU began that season 6-1, the school’s best start since 1958.
As a junior in 1994, Stiles passed for 1,964 yards in directing the Vikings (8-3) to the national quarterfinals. They began the playoffs with an opening-round win at No.1-ranked Linfield.
Stiles graduated from WWU in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. He had a three-year professional football career, playing in Germany in 1996 for the Wolfsburg Blue Wings, while also being the offensive coordinator, and being a part-time starter for two seasons in the Arena Football League for the Portland Forest Dragons. In his first start for Portland, Stiles threw five touchdown passes against Anaheim and later competed against two-time Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner.
Stiles has been a color commentator in football and basketball at ROOT SPORTS Northwest since 2006. He has covered college football, arena football and high school football. Stiles also spent nine years handling color for WWU football radio broadcasts.
Stiles was the Athlete of the Year in 1990-91 at Decatur High School located in Federal Way, Wash., competing in football, basketball and baseball for the Gators. He led the state in passing in 1990, totaling 3,200 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior and senior. Stiles also earned all-league honors twice and was team captain for two years.
Stiles, who is employed as a regional sales manager for a medical device company, resides in Snoqualmie, Wash., with wife Andrea, daughter Jordan and son Colt.
KATJA TRYGG Women’s Golf
Katja Trygg holds or shares WWU records in women’s golf for best season scoring average (75.4), lowest scoring round (69), tournament medalist performances (8), and top finish at nationals (5th).
During her senior season of 2005-06, Trygg was a first-team National Golf Coaches Association All-American for the second straight year and Western's Female Athlete of the Year as she helped the Vikings to the best campaign in program history, which included a third consecutive fifth-place finish at nationals.
Trygg lowered her scoring average by nearly 10 strokes during her four-year career at WWU.
As a sophomore, Trygg placed 16th in medalist play at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II National Championships. The Vikings, making the program’s first appearance at nationals since joining the NCAA in 1998, finished fifth in the team standings.
That season, Trygg's game took a big jump when she claimed medalist honors at the WWU Invitational by shooting rounds of 73, 76 and 78 for a 54-hole total of 227. Her play helped the Vikings to a 34-stroke victory, which propelled them to second place at the NCAA II West Regional two weeks later.
In all, Trygg posted 12 rounds under 80 during that campaign with seven coming in her last 10 rounds, the last three while competing for the first time at nationals.
As a junior, Trygg was a medalist in four tournaments, helping the Vikings tie for first at regionals, which took place at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club, and place fifth at the NCAA championships. She finished 15th individually at nationals, leading the Vikings with a season scoring average of 77.0, carding 21 of 27 rounds under 80.
As a senior in 2005-06, Trygg averaged a school-record 75.4 strokes, which ranked fifth nationally, and recorded a career and school-best 3-under par 69 in the final round at the Grand Canyon Invitational. As a team, Western shot 287 in that round, also a school best.
Trygg placed fifth at nationals, the Vikings' previous best finish being 10th. She shot 74 in the final round for a 54-hole total of 230.
That year, besides doing well in the post-season, Western was victorious in seven of eight regular-season tournaments.
“My first year coaching was Katja’s senior year,” said Bo Stephan. “Now 13 years later, it still ranks as the most special season that I have been a part of both individually for her and as a team.”
“Katja was such a tremendous player, but an even better leader and teammate. She came to Western her freshman year with talent, but over her time here, matured into not only the best player WWU has ever had, but towards the end of her collegiate career one of the best players in the country. She is extremely deserving of this honor and I couldn’t be prouder of her for that achievement.”
Trygg did not start playing golf seriously until the eighth grade. She played for Bainbridge (Wash.) High School, placing ninth individually at the Class 3A state tournament as a junior on a team that finished sixth.
Trygg completed her bachelor’s degree in physical education, fitness and health promotion at WWU in June of 2006. She then worked at Wing Point Golf & Country Club (Bainbridge Island) for two years, enrolling in a PGA program for teaching professionals.
Trygg returned to Western and while going to school was the women's golf assistant for two seasons from the fall of 2007 to March of 2009.
In October of 2013, Trygg married Chris Parrish, who was a standout cyclist at Western. They now live in Bend, Ore.